women entrepreneurship

Over the past decades, the number of women who run small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has increased. Still, female entrepreneurs face multiple and intersectional challenges, from access to funding to gender biases. Enterprise Europe Network is on a mission to bolster women’s voices across all industries and equip them with the right tools to succeed.

Finnish entrepreneurs Veera Ylikotila and Jenni Hakkarainen set up Xeraliving in 2020. Their bold mission is to contribute to a sustainable and transparent interior design industry through items that combine the versatility of natural materials with sleek contemporary style. Working with local and European manufacturers, they produce home accessories and small objects, all with practicality and sustainability at their core. Enterprise Europe Network offered the young company advice on outsourcing, building international networks, and finding new business partners. Hanna Riski, Senior Adviser at the Network partner Business Finland, met with Veera Ylikotila, co-founder of Xeraliving, to share with our readers how they worked together to achieve success.

In recent years, women are changing the world of digital technologies. Inspiring stories are starting to pile up, describing the unique journeys of successful women entrepreneurs in the high-tech industry. One of them is Dragana Calija, owner and CEO of Saint Di & Co, winner of the Best Woman Exporter Award in the Success Flower Awards for the 2020 best women entrepreneurs. Sanja Popovic-Pantic, the chair of the Network’s group of experts in women entrepreneurship met Dragana and asked her a few questions to put the spotlight on her story and achievements.